The Last Girl
by feast0ffools
Summary: Slightly AU. In which another girl, Eden, enters the maze after Teresa. However, Eden remembers everything about her life (except wicked) including her relationship with Newt. How will she react when she finds he has forgotten all about her?
1. Chapter 1

Her ears filled with the sound of her own heartbeat, thrumming and beating against her chest. Her breathing was getting uncontrollable, so much so that she stopped with her hands on her knees and her head bent towards the floor.

"I've made it this far. Come on Eden, you can do this. You have to." Eden whispered, willing herself forward.

"You have to. For Newt." His face pushed its way to the front of her memory so that she could even recall the green specks in his eyes and the slight tug of his smile. Newt was the only thing Eden had left and she was determined to bring him back to her. Even if that meant sneaking into WICKED. Eden bent down to tighten the laces of her boots before she stood and assessed her surroundings. She noted the bleached white walls, humourless and sad in their blankness. She also noted the polished tiles that were cleaned to perfection to mask any attempt of struggle that these corridors would have seen. It was still and eerily quiet. Eden heard nothing, no one walking, no one working and definitely no conversation. The only sound she picked up was the blinking of a near camera. That's when the realisation dawned on her. A camera! She was already being watched!

"Stupid bloody mistake!" She yelled to herself as she frantically turned for a place to hide. This time when she looked the walls weren't humourless and blank like she thought. They were laughing menacingly at her, because they knew that the corridors held no secret place. There was no refuge here. The blinking continued tracking Eden and the noise increasing with the pace of her walk. bleep. bleep. bleep. Faster and faster until she was running and yet the camera's were suddenly everywhere, one step behind her. Bleepbleepbleep they continued until suddenly they were matched with the harsh sound of boots on tiles. Eden had no idea where they came from and her one look thrown over her shoulder couldn't tell her either. Her vision was filled with the uniforms charging at her and gaining ground, quickly. There must have been a dozen of them at least and every single one of them held a gun. _This is it._ She thought to herself as she felt her legs betray her. Each footstep fell slower than the last until she was hit. _I'm sorry Newt_ was the last coherent thought that crossed her mind before it was bombed with pain. Eden fell hard to the floor her arms reaching to the burning in her back as she spasmed her check crushed against the cold hard floor.

"Good job this one isn't a runner, eh?" One of the uniforms said with laughter coating each of his words whilst his boot dug into her side. He kicked hard then, the connection with her rib made obvious with a loud crunching sound.

"Well certainly not now Gib!" Another said, again to a chorus of laughter. Eden couldn't understand. _A runner?_ _What are they talking about? Where are they? Where's Newt?_ These thoughts ran through her mind until more pain interrupted. She was being hauled up by her arms and unceremoniously thrown over someone's shoulders. Non of her questions were answered. The last words she heard only magnified her fear so much so that she welcomed the blackness that passing out would give her. She heard: "Lets take her to Ava Paige."

A/N: First ever Maze Runner fanfic and I really hope you like it! If you read please please review! Have a good day/night :)


	2. Chapter 2

_Eden watched the waves crash against the surface of the sand with a contented smile. The wind whipping her hair and slapping her face kept her awake. A sound of laughter caused her to turn and she was greeted by a large fluffy sheepdog that jumped at her and promptly shook his wet hair, soaking her._

 _"Oh! Bernard, you great lump!" She yelled which only amused Newt more. He strolled toward her, winked and then joined Eden on the bench. His arm around her shoulders, they sat comfortably waiting for Marie to catch up. Marie was the complete opposite of her brother; she had small stubby legs and a round face, whereas he was tall and slender with a square jaw. She had a loud and boisterous personality compared to his calm and collected nature. Marie, although panting still insisted on skipping until she reached the pair. Her eyes, the only similarity to her brothers, were sparkling with mirth._

 _"Please can I take Bernard into the sea! Please can I? Please?" She pleaded._

 _"I don't like you going on your own Marie-"_

 _"BUT" She interrupted. "If I go down to the sea front, I won't be in the waaay" Marie countered, dragging out the syllables of 'way' with a not so subtle nod of the head in Eden's direction._

 _Eden let out a loud chuckle while Newt sheepishly hid a smile._

 _"Alright! Alright but only for five minutes, got it?"_

 _"Yes, sir!" Marie replied with mock sincerity and grabbed the lead before sprinting down the hill, a mass of black and white fur bounding down after her._

 _"She's doing OK you know?" Eden said, turning towards Newt._

 _"Yeah I know, its just you and her…you're all i've got. I can't risk that."_

 _"I won't let you! I promise Newt-"_

 _"The whole world is going to bloody shit out there Eden, it's only the beginning right now, I can feel it! They're trying to contain it, pretending like they can fix it when actually they're just lying to themselves. Everyone knows if you're not bloody infected then you-"_

 _"Get taken." Eden finished when Newt was clearly struggling. "But we're family. You, Marie and I and I promise that if something happens, anything at all-" Eden stopped then, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to cry. Newt opened his arms to her and held her body against his own. Eden wrapped her arms around him underneath his coat and he gently kissed her forehead before resting his chin against her hair._

 _"I promise too." He said._

Eden was barely aware of her surroundings, her head felt light yet her eyelids felt too heavy to lift. She slowly twitched her fingers one by one before trying to stretch out her limbs. Pain ebbed its way into her side and her back suddenly so that her memories rushed back at her so fast her eyes shot open. She was alone. Only a white sterile room that mirrored the corridor stared back at her. Eden blinked a few times before trying to lift herself upwards, but something pulled her back down. A drip attached to her left arm explained why her pain was muted.

"Bastard!" She yelled into the emptiness. _Gib. I'll remember that name you little bastard._ Eden thought as her mind was trying to think of her next move. Looking down at herself she saw everything was the same other than a different top. _No tears in this one_. She remarked touching the soft navy cotton. Slowly, because her muscles were only just coming back to life, she twisted her legs around so that they were hanging over the edge of a gurney. Her delicate fingers probed the needle in her arm before she prised it out of her skin. With a sigh Eden finally heaved herself down so that her boots were firmly planted on the floor. She swayed slightly and just as she reached out to steady herself, she fell against a panelled wall. A gasp escaped her lips from the contact on her side which she swiftly tried to ignore. Looking into the reflective surface Eden saw herself; her blue eyes seemed to have dulled, her copper hair come loose from her hair tie was plastered around her neck with sweat and her slim figure was hunched forward in pain. She grimaced at the sight before turning away, only to be confronted with the chancellor.

"Eden dear, how are you feeling?" Eden was sure that the chancellor's hair tie was too tight and the lack of blood flow was causing this weird interaction because surely she did not just call her 'dear'.

"Very well." Ava Paige continued. "Not like it matters really." _Ah. There it is._ Eden mused to herself.

"I'm afraid we will need to do a lot of damage control with you. We've been aware of you for a while now. You've been so careless with your sneaking around these past few weeks, we were simply just waiting for your arrival."

"Seen as you've planned ahead, care to enlighten me into whats next?" Eden retorted.

"Tut, tut. Damage control on your manners too perhaps?"

"Drop the pretence Paige, what is the damage control?" Eden was trying her best to cover her fear with snark. She hoped if she kept the chancellor talking long enough she'd have thought of an escape plan or at least back up plan number nine.

"Although we were expecting you Miss Carlyle, you were never supposed to get into the building. Your immunity and particular skills should in fact benefit us. Its quite rare to have someone such as yourself seek us instead of us seeking you."

"I wouldn't say seeking Miss Paige, you take. And I was never seeking you"

"You were seeking Newt. Yes, i'm aware of that also. The damage control is simply: how big of an asset are you? Will you help the bigger picture or hinder the experiment? I have to enter this with a clear mind and not let my dislike for you inflict on any decisions…"

"So i'll just…wait here then?" Eden replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Thats not necessary Miss Carlyle… Seen as you're managing without the drip Mr Gibbons will escort you to the lab." And with that, the uniform that cracked her ribs walked into the doorway with a bemused look on his face.

"Oh, of bloody course!" Eden stifled back a laugh before being pulled forward and half dragged into another corridor with the soundtrack of Ava Paige's retreating footsteps, as her heels clacked against the tiles.

"Don't even think about running. It didn't get you very far the first time!" Gib gloated.

"What's the alternative? Holding hands with you?"

"If it were my way i'd have disposed of you when you still on the gurney. But, the chancellor has decided that you may be interesting to watch, so…" He let the sentence fall as they approached a pin coded doorway. He punched in four numbers according to the beeps but his beefy fingers hid the pin pad from Eden's view. Once inside Eden saw a large display of monitors, worktops, microscopes, needles and a large array of test tubes of different sizes. Her breathing began to quicken and her chest felt like it was caving in with the effort it took to resist screaming. _What are they going to do to me? Is this what they did to Newt? Oh, oh, bloody hell! Why -_ Her internal agony was cut short when she was pushed onto a stool. The unexpected cold made her more alert as she started to assess her surroundings once again. In front of her stood an older man with olive skin tone and dark soft eyes. He looked down at her with a faint smile still resting on his lips, as if hope would never leave them. He brushed the hair off her forehead before shining a light directly into her eye.

"Her pupils have dilated and she is responding correctly. I think she's ready to go." He said to Gib before returning to a rather startled Eden.

"My name is Doctor Jameson, and i'll be performing your procedure today."

"Wait! Procedure? What procedure?" The hysteria in Eden's voice was becoming more evident. He ignored her momentarily as he started to attach tubes to her head that led to one of the monitors. Her arms were already being constrained behind her and her ankles were already attached to the base of the stool restricting all her movement. The bindings bit into her skin as she attempted to wriggle out, her shoulders pushing forwards as she tried to collect as much force as she could into getting free. Doctor Jameson simply patted her back down with ease she wouldn't have thought capable of the old man.

"Nothing major. I'll be sifting and searching your memories and removing the appropriate ones. As instructed. Gibs you may leave now."

"I'll stay. I want to see her reaction to the needle!" Gibs stated with an unmistakable smile on his face as he leered over her. Eden didn't have time to stare for long, her attention was drawn to the pinprick of a needle that was aiming for her temple.

"Say hi to the maze for me!"

A/N: I'm really enjoying writing this fic and I really hope you like reading it! Please review, maybe tell me what you think of some of the added characters? Or even my own version of Miss Ava Paige! Thanks everyone ~


	3. Chapter 3

Cold. Everything felt cold; against her skin, in her blood and even making its way to her numb mind. Eden lay still waiting for some blackness to take over her, but nothing came. _I promised_ her mind voiced as a sob escaped her lips. Curled up on the floor with her knees pushed up to her chin, Eden let her jeans catch her tears. Her back was pressed against some metal railings that alerted her to a dull nagging pain she didn't know she had. Eden slowly began to peel herself from the floor into a sitting position so she could fight her way through her thoughts. Thats when it hit her! The dawning realisation that she didn't know where she was hit her like a slap in the face. Backing up she hit another wall, signalling the end to her crate and confirming to her that she was trapped. Panic was starting to set in and she had to remind herself to breath; _In through the nose, out through the mouth, 1, 2, 3 come on Eden, get it together!_ The panic sensation was twisting itself to anger and frustration in her stomach that cause her to lash out and hit the enclosing walls.

"Shit!" She exclaimed as the delicate skin over her knuckles split. Eden let out a shaky breath and looked around. There were five crates thrown in a haphazard pile in the corner to her right, and a red lighting blinking on her left. She had no recollection of how she got there. Her frustration was clear because no matter how hard she tried all she could remember was that she had been looking for Newt. _Why? Did Newt leave me? I wouldn't look for him if he left me on purpose._

 _"_ I promised to look for him if anything happened!" Eden voiced to the empty box, with a slight echo reaching back to her ears. _What would have happened though?_ Through her internal struggle Eden had managed to wedge herself in the corner with her hands threaded through her shoulder length hair before she remembered the last time she saw Newt…

" _That damned dog keeps whimpering like I can bring her back somehow!" He yelled pacing back and forth in front of the window. A cry forced its way through the glass, ringing in both of their ears, like an insistent bell telling them not to forget. At this, Newt slammed the window closed and dragged the curtains into place as if forcing the outside world out of his mind. Eden stood and walked over to him, she gently took his hands from his hair and placed them on each of her cheeks._

 _"Look at me." She said. Newt's gaze fell on Eden's eyes, glistening up at him. For a minute Eden was sure he wasn't really looking at her but seeing through her, until his eyes seemed to light up; he was looking at the only thing that could give him clarity in this messed up world._

 _"I need you." He said. "I don't think I will ever not need you Eden." His voice was practically a whisper at this point and he had to clear his throat for fear of letting his tears escape._

 _"Marie is gone. My little baby sister is gone and you are literally the only thing left that can make me smile." He continued._

 _"Well, I'd hate to think there was another woman in your life!" Eden smirked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He dug an elbow into her in response with a choked laugh._

 _"Way to ruin a moment, love"_

 _"Stay here with me tonight, please?" Eden asked, all humour leaving her voice. "I just - I have this feeling and I don't want to let you out of my sight…"_

 _"There's no other woman! Honestly…" Newt joked back at her._

 _"Newt!"_

 _"Alright, alright, I'll be an hour tops! We are seriously running low on supplies." At this his arms fell from her sides as he headed towards the door, Bernard the dog, close on his heels. He stopped then, and pointed at the sheep dog, and then at Eden._

 _"Bernard, go! Keep her safe until I get back" He waited until the mass of black fur had planted himself at Eden's feet before praising Bernard. He turned to leave again before spinning on his heels and walking the few brisk steps to where she was stood. He crushed his lips to hers with the dog sandwiched between their legs before he broke their kiss and the slamming of the door made his absence absolute._

Back in the box, Eden tried to make sense of the memory still burning bright in her mind. She couldn't remember where Marie had gone or why. She didn't remember who was crying outside their window. She didn't remember why she didn't see Newt again and she didn't remember how she got into this damned box! Although she was starting to guess that she did something stupid, and all of this was connected somehow.

"What did I do when Newt didn't come home?" Eden asked the empty air. "Oh my god! What happened to Bernard?" She yelled into the void as all of her unanswered questions seemed to build on top of her, painstakingly and crushingly hard. Her amnesia was giving her a headache strong enough to rival the pain in her legs from the cramped position she had inadvertently huddled herself into. Breathing out, yet another sigh, Eden decided to think things through a different way.

Eden lent back against the metal, ignoring the coldness that it caused. She closed her eyes and lent her head back as she cleared her thoughts, rather than trying to sift through them. _What is the last thing you remember?_ She cautiously asked herself.

"Welcome to the maze!" Eden shrieked her whole body seemingly have been electrified and awakened by this new burst of energy. She did it! She remembered and then all so suddenly she didn't remember. Her amnesia kicked in as another force of questions crept towards her; _Who said that to me? What maze? Is that why they put me in the box? Did they put me in the box? Who is they? Did I do this to myself?_

Out of nowhere a sharp ringing began in her ears that overshadowed her questions. A few torturous minutes later a screeching of metal on metal added to the onslaught within her ears. Eden was thrown forward as the box itself was lurched into action. Slowly at first, until its momentum gathered and the box was powered faster and faster until she thought she was going to throw up her stomach lining. Eden gripped onto the railing nearest to her, fear pooling in her gut as the ride continued going upwards. She felt off balance as though her navel centre was yanked to the left, leaving her head reeling. She craned her neck upwards but no relief was in sight, and the ride seemed to be endless, all the while the blinking red light in the corner was flashing violently, resembling a parade against her eyelids and with it a harsh alarm drumming along to his irate heartbeat.

Just as quickly as it had started, the box screeched to an end. A bright light, was a refreshing relief from the red alarm, reassured Eden into opening her eyes. Nothing came into focus for her, but her ears were adjusting to a chorus of voices.

"I thought Teresa was the last"

"They definitely said she was the last"

"Is it supplies?"

"Thomas get in there will you?"

Someone jumped into the box with Eden and she felt the metal waver under the sudden weight. He stood in front of her casting a shadow so that she could look up into a soft and welcoming face.

"Its safe, I won't hurt you" He said calmly.

"My name is Thomas, do you remember yours yet?"

Eden didn't answer him right away, she was so confused by everything. So many new things were being thrown at her and it was hard to think. She couldn't see past Thomas but she could still hear the confused voices from above them. _How many are there?_ She wondered when a voice she recognised spoke up.

"What are you doing down there Tommy, bloody finger painting?"

"Its another girl!" He announced to the gathering group with a collected gasp of a reply.

"Oh, dibs on this one for sure"

"Shut it you Shank, we haven't even seen her yet!"

Thomas looked back down at the girl huddled on the floor at his feet. A wave of uncertainty crossed his face as he looked at her; not crying and shaking and certainly not scared.

"I heard Newt" Was the first thing Eden said to Thomas and he was so shocked he nearly joined her on the floor.

"NEWT!" He recovered quickly and yelled upwards towards the group rather than to her. Another clang announced the arrival of Newt as he jumped down into the box. He looked down briefly at Eden on the floor before turning to Thomas with a questioning look.

"She said your name." Was all he said as though he still wasn't sure what was happening. At this Newt whipped his head to the girl still on the floor before he bent down to look at her face.

"You know me?" Eden saw his brows knit with confusion and her heart began to sink. All her hope at simply hearing his voice was in shatters around her.

"What's your name?" He continued, with the same unregistering look on his face. Eden stared back at him, searching into his deep blue eyes for any recognition, pleading with him for some, any memory of their life at all to break out onto his expression. She saw none. She felt the tears well in her eyes and knew she couldn't stop them from falling. Her chest began to tighten as though her ribcage had given up supporting her, like they had decided there was no use for her heart anymore and were going to squish it into nothingness. Her face had wet lines traveling to her chin and to a well of tears that had collected in the shallows of her neck. Her throat started constricting and wouldn't form a single word around the lump that had grown there. Eden didn't know what to do, in this moment she felt nothing but pain. She simply shook her head and turned to the boy Thomas, who was still stood behind Newt.

"Can you help me out please?" He quickly sprung into action and grabbed her hand, guiding her up out of the box. With a look thrown over her shoulder she said: "My name is Eden Carlyle."

A/N: Thank you so much to the reviews/followers so far! I hope this chapter was worth waiting for, as it was quite a big one! I would greatly appreciate more reviews, to tell me whether i can improve or whether you liked my characters, memories or anything else! Also what do you think of the first present day interaction with Eden and Newt? For anyone wondering I named her after the Garden of Eden (it felt appropriate?) Thanks again everyone! ~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm terrible, I know. Again I am so sorry for the amount of time this took and I hope you're still with me on this one! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, because of all the action. Let me know what you think! You know what to do!

Disclaimer: Dashner is the King that owns the world and characters. My darling Eden is the only thing to belong to me.

Chapter 4:

Once outside the box, Eden dropped the boy Thomas' hand and just started walking. She had no idea where she was or why, all she knew was that she didn't want to remember this heartache anymore. There was a gathering outside of the box of boys around her own age that she barely noticed. They parted down the middle to allow her through, whilst staring in wonder at the strange newcomer. She paid them no attention and just kept walking forward, seeming both lost and purposeful all at the same time.

Newt had finally joined Thomas outside of the box, who shared a near identical expression of confusion. A few moments later and the whispers began: _Where is she going? Does she know this place? Who is she?_ Newt and Thomas looked at each other and back towards Eden again where she was just starting to cross the threshold from the Glade into the maze.

"NO!"

"STOP!"

"WAIT!"

All chorused at the same time but none of the boy's screams seemed to reach Eden. She continued to walk not realising where she was going or just not caring. Thats when Newt started running. He ran quickly and straight ahead and seemed to be the catalyst for everyone else. Soon Thomas was running and it was only because of Newt's limp that he reached the door before him. Thomas hesitated for a second before the two boys dove in after her. Once they reached her Thomas wrapped both arms around her back in an effort of stopping her going in any further.

"Let go!" "Let go of me!" Eden pulled and twisted at the arms encircling her. She was so small Thomas had physically lifted her off the floor, her legs thrashing about widely and her hair whipping him in the face.

"Hey! Will you bloody calm down?" Newt's voice rang loudly through the air and seemed to crack through Eden's wild antics. She slowed her motions and finally seemed to be able to see where she was. She looked at Newt and hoped and prayed that before was a momentary lapse and he really did remember her.

"It's Eden isn't it?" He asked instead which made her heart shatter all over again. She hiccuped through her tears and nodded to him, not trusting her voice.

"OK, well that's good. That's really good." He gave her a light and cautious smile like he was taming a wild animal. She sagged in Thomas' arms, feeling dejected and resigned all over again. _You're my bloody boyfriend!_ She wanted to scream at him to force him to remember her. Yet, looking into his cautious face all she could do was hang there limp and listen to Thomas.

"Yeah, I didn't remember my name when I woke up." He said from behind her, still holding her arms. It was here that Eden registered her environment, looking around cautiously with her legs still raised off the ground.

"Uhm, you can put me down now." There was a pregnant pause before they boy seemed to realise and he quickly planted her back down on the ground.

"Right, well now that's sorted, can we please walk those dangerous fifty steps back to safety please" Thomas regained quickly from their awkward situation, and Eden would have thought he was trying to joke his way through it if it weren't for the pleading look in his eyes as he searched their surroundings for danger.

Eden tore her gaze away from Newt and slowly looked at her surroundings. Straight ahead was a canopy of ivy vines that covered a grey stone. Her eyes followed the vines upwards, so high that her neck began to strain and her mouth gaped in awe. She turned to the left and saw an opening that curved round into a sharp right angle. She edged carefully around the corner to see what was beyond that point, and was painfully aware of how on edge Newt and Thomas seemed. Her eyebrows raised into her hairline before knitting down into confusion when she realised that the grey stone spread to the edges of her viewpoint. Again she looked upwards towards the sky but all she saw were the peaks of the grey stone that now looked imposing and harsh in the dim light. Eden spun round in a circle, looking upwards but her view never changed. Sharply she turned to the boys with a questioning look before tentatively starting to walk further into the maze, her eyes searching rapidly for a change from the ivy and the stone.

"Wait! You can't go further in" Thomas exclaimed walking behind her. Eden ignored him and walked closer to the walls. Her hand reached out and placed a feather light touch on the vines cascading down the walls.

"You've been trapped here." Eden stated. She looked at Newt, waiting for his agreement although she didn't phrase it like a question. Her eyes held worry that he hadn't seen in a long time. Newt then held out his hand towards her.

"Please, we can't stay in here. There are-" but he didn't have a chance to finish. Whirring noises could be heard in the distance and the clicking signalled that it was on the move.

"No no no no no" Newt began murmuring to them all. "This can't be happening it's not nightfall yet!"

"No but it's getting dark. Are they coming out earlier?" Thomas replied.

"Wait, who are coming out? What's going on?"

"We'll fill you in if we make it back" "Right now, you just need to run and bloody fast too." Newt retorted whilst grabbing Eden's hand. He had already started tugging her forward before Thomas took hold of her other arm and out of sheer determination drove them forward. She was stuck between both of the boys and was just as clueless as she was when she woke up in the box. _Was that really only a few hours ago?_ She asked herself. Out loud she still protested to the boys.

"Someone needs to tell me what is going on!" "Are we being chased right now?" Eden screamed at the two of them terror bubbling its way up from her stomach so forcefully she thought she was going to vomit. Newt tripped slightly on her right and Eden halted to make sure he was OK. It was in this hesitation that she turned around and caught sight of a gleaming mechanical monstrosity that had protruding spikes and spears that seemed to be aiming directly for her. It inched slowly forward and two spears on the things back clanged together revealing the source of the clicking noise.

"HOLY SHIT! OK I GET IT NOW!" Eden shrieked grabbing back hold of Newt as the began tearing down the last stretch back to the door.

"KEEP RUNNING!" The rogue trio heard from behind them just at the exact moment when they crash landed on the ground inside of the door. The group of boys that were previously huddled around Eden's box where now formed into a semi circle outside of the door. An older boy was amongst them with his arms crossed over his chest and an unreadable but stern expression on his face. With the small group's arrival, the boys took a collective step back to accommodate them but they all turned back to look outside of the door.

Another two boys were seen in the distance trying to get passed the mechanical creature that was blocking the final stretch to the door. There was a loud slicing sound that seemed to cut through the air that was followed by a sickening scraping sound that revealed a spear protruding from it''s underbelly that was being dragged through the ground. The dark haired asian boy was the one that narrowly missed being split in two as he skidded out of range of the spikes before jumping back up on his feet to continue running. Eden scrabbled backwards on her forearms and her backside to make a clearing for him and watched with bated breath for him to make it over the threshold. The boy behind the asian boy was still stuck trying to weave his way under the creature's many legs. He crouched down low and manoeuvred his way past the mechanical blades. He managed a tuck and roll move that propelled him away from the creature before going in a dead sprint. In front of him the first boy had made it but refused to cross until the other boy had caught up. The others watched hypnotised by the events whilst Eden gulped down her scream and wiped the sweat from her brow with her right hand. She was looking down at her left hand that was still held by Newt when the two boys finally landed with the group.

Thomas let out a sigh next to her and the tension on the other side of the door has clearly relaxed some. The group were sitting in a relieved silence, until a stirring began. Eden looked around widely trying to find the source of the noise when the walls started to extend and move closer together. She looked around but no one seemed to be paying attention to the door being closed, but were getting up around her.

"DOES ANYONE WANT TO EXPLAIN WHY I HAVE BEEN DROPPED INTO THE BLOODY PITS OF HELL?" She screamed imploringly at the group before her. Newt got up behind her along with the other two boys and Thomas.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" asked the asian boy.

"OK, i'm glad you're not sliced and diced but refrain from the sarcasm for a second, I think my mind just exploded." Eden retorted.

Although the asian boy chuckled next to her the older boy from earlier still looked as stern as ever. He spoke up for the first time.

"Alright everyone that's enough excitement for one night. Head over to Frypan for your meals"

He then walked over to the small gathering surrounding Eden. He looked from Newt to Thomas to the two boys and then finally resting on Eden.

"You're what the box brought up?" He didn't wait for an answer before turning on Thomas.

"Thomas I thought that note said Teresa was the last one? Ever since you arrived things have been changing. First a girl, then the doors and now the Grievers -"

"Grievers? Are they the robots from hell? Can someone please tell me where I am?" Eden finally voiced her tirade of questions her biggest one, the one for Newt, she kept inside her own head.

"We call them Grievers but we don't really know where they come from. I'm Minho by the way. I'm the keeper of the runners."

"And i'm Alby. We call this place the Glade" Whilst Eden nodded at this and tried to take it all in Alby addressed his next question to Newt.

"Does she know her name yet?"

"I do. It's Eden Carlyle" She interrupted him for the second time.

"Did you just say Carlyle? As in you know your first _and_ your second name?" Alby asked completely confused.

Eden looked around at their small renegade group completely overwhelmed with everything. She looked again at Newt still hoping for some recognition on his face but again to no avail. They were all looking at her, waiting.

"Why is that so surprising? I don't understand why I wouldn't know my own name?"

The boys shared glances above her head as if communicating with their eyes, so that Eden remained lost in their conversation. Although they all turned to stare at her it was Thomas who replied to Eden. It was a short reply but powerful. It made her sympathise for all that they had lost and wondered how long some of these boys had been here, trapped and not knowing who they are. It made her think of all the wonderful memories that she had kept but Newt had lost. He said:

"Because we only got our first name".

A/N: I'm already writing the next chapter so it should be up a lot ( lot) quicker than this one! It will feature the first appearances of Gally and Teresa so i'm very excited. Reviews do help the writing process though so please tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N at the bottom of the chapter!

Eden finally pushed herself off the floor so that she was standing with the others. The enormity of what Thomas had said was starting to sink into her mind making her think that maybe these boys knew even less than she did. _This is bad, this is really bad._ Eden thought to herself but before she could voice any of the questions from her ever-growing list another boy walked up behind Alby.

"Let me guess, something else has changed?" The boy's tone was dripping with distain and his glare at Thomas made clear to Eden who the dig was directed at.

"Excuse me, but i'm still asking questions here" Eden retorted, suddenly feeling quite defensive of the boy Thomas. The skinny tall boy suddenly took notice of her and coughed away his surprise.

He looked around at the small gathering imploringly, like he couldn't quite get to grips with the situation. He stopped quickly and took three brisk steps towards Eden so that he was only inches from her face.

"Another one!" He exclaimed loudly in a scratchy voice followed by a halfhearted laugh and a loud exhale of air through his nose. The boy's aggressive stance made the other's around Eden visibly tense and Newt stepped forward towards the pair.

"This one yours then Newt?" He noted, looking sharply at the other boy. "With Teresa and Thomas shacking up, maybe i'll get the next one" He yelled, spittle flying from his mouth. Eden caught sight of Thomas' jaw clench in her peripheral a mere second before Alby intervened, also stepping forward towards the pair, his arms still crossed across his torso.

"Rule number 2 Gally, remember it." He said in a flat voice but with a tone of authority that caused him to take a step back and Eden to look more confused.

"Maybe we should take this inside the map room?" Minho suggested, which was met with a chorus of agreement from the others.

"The map room better give some bloody answers" Eden muttered as the small group began to guide her to the right, bypassing the crate she came up in.

Once inside Gally immediately began firing questions again, directed mainly towards Alby and Thomas. Eden began to tune the boys out as she looked around the cabin like structure, trying to assess every aspect of the space around her. The room was flooded with boxes and boxes of what she guessed were the maps the room was named after. Eden noticed that Minho and the other runner had isolated themselves from the argument and appeared to be sketching. Looking over Minho's shoulder she could distinguish some pretty clear outlines but could see no real pattern.

"Thats what's outside isn't it?" Eden didn't dare to raise her voice above a whisper; she hadn't gotten any real answers when she was shouting so a different tactic was in order.

"Yes and no," However was Minho's only reply.

"Mate, I don't buy into the cryptic stuff ok? We're all obviously in the same boat here so just give me a real answer" Eden paused for a split second and with a resentful sigh continued with: "Please?"

"I have known you for approximately half an hour and already you are impossible to deal with!" Minho exclaimed dropping his stick of charcoal. "I was not being cryptic you just didn't give me a chance. The drawing is of the maze outside but tomorrow's maze will not be this one, and neither will be the day after that or the day after that." His brows dropped low casting shadows over his eyelids and his voice lost its edge and grew sombre.

"They're never the same" Eden finished at the same time as Minho. As their voices shushed Eden realised the room had grown quiet; all eyes were facing toward her and Minho signalling that their conversation had been opened to all of the group.

"Listen, I know this must be confusing for you, but we've all been there. Every one of us has come up in that box," The boy Thomas said reaching out for Eden.

"Thats not the point though is it Thomas? The point is that things have changed when some people came up in that box! Changes like her!" Gally had piped up again, even stepping forward and pointing at Eden to truly emphasise his point.

Thomas was clearly getting agitated with this boy, Eden could see his jaw working at either restraining himself or coming up with something to retaliate. He looked towards Alby almost imploringly and so where everyone else. That's when Eden knew that he was the acting leader in the 'glade'.

"He's right that things have changed. He's also right in saying that the changes started with you Thomas" Alby crossed his arms over his chest yet again and lent backwards on the makeshift table.

"Then talk about it." Eden's harsh voice carried through the room and was met with confused glances. Newt was stood sandwiched between Thomas and Alby opposite her and made eye contact that made her knees go weak. She swallowed thickly before carrying on, suddenly wanting to get this next part right, to not mess up when he was watching her so intently.

"I mean, all you guys are doing is accusing one another. Actually scratch that, you-" This time Eden was the one to do the pointing "- are accusing me. It's hardly coming up with a solution is it?" Eden's eyebrows were raised, her eyes were wide and her head shook as if to silently communicate an 'obviously' to the boys.

Newt did a side smile that was more of an amused smirk that Eden hadn't seen in a long time. For the first time in entering the map room he spoke up.

"Now there's a point," He chuckled softly. "So say we listed everything that's different we can start to think of reasons why. At least it's something else to go on other than the maps right?"

"Right" Minho nodded enthusiastically, obviously keen to give up on his artistic side. The conservation quickly fell into a lull where everyone was thinking of how to start. It was in that precise moment of comfortable silence that Eden's stomach protested, and loudly.

"Maybe we can eat first?" Eden suggested rather sheepishly. "There is food here right?"

"Yeah come on I'll take you to Frypan" Thomas laughed whilst heading to the door. The runners and Alby stayed behind in the map room to recount the day's event starting with the new map.

Satisfied now that she had finally eaten something, Eden had some time to think. She had purposefully decided to eat alone so that she could digest all of this new information and emotions by herself, properly. Although she was sat alone, she certainly didn't feel it as all the eyes of the gladers were felt upon her skin. She tried to ignore their probing glances and questioning looks but they felt heavy as if they were judging her. Whenever she turned the younger boys would look away and pretend that they weren't staring, making it perfectly clear to her that she was the outsider, that she was something that had changed for them.

Eden tried for a second time to get some time to herself by leaving the eating area, each step away from them the less she felt their presence leering at her. There wasn't many places for Eden to go as she quickly realised that the Glade was small and very containing but she walked as far as possible and again found herself at the edge, her neck straining up towards the imposing walls that at this point she didn't know where trapping them or protecting them.

"They're impressive and giant at first but now I just hate them," A voice, very gentle, spoke up from behind her. Eden turned and was face to face with her not-boyfriend boyfriend.

"I'd have never believed it if I hadn't seen it. Any of it" She replied almost timidly, not quite believing that she was talking to her boyfriend but he was talking to a stranger.

"I, well I actually, I wanted to talk to you -" Newt stopped and took a breath. Starting over he said: "I wanted to ask if you really said my name, you know, in the box?"

To Eden everything rested on this conversation, her inner commentary was beyond rambling at this point and she knew if any of it were actually said aloud she would look crazy. She thought of telling him their first ever date or the first time he met her parents or just stating that they had spent the last four years of their lives together. She thought of telling him that she believed he was her soulmate or the makeshift family they had created with his sister and Bernard. She thought about telling him that she had been looking for him and how she had missed him.

"Well yeah I think so, I think I heard one of the gladers say it and I guess I just latched onto it" Eden finally said putting on a small smile even though her insides felt like they were being torn apart.

 _He can't love what he doesn't remember. You're doing the right thing just keep it up_. She said to herself almost like a mantra in her head.

"So you didn't know me?" Eden thought he looked a little dejected when he said this, but it passed too quickly for her to be certain. She shook her head in response and quickly changed the subject, not trusting herself to keep up with the lie.

"I was going to ask you a question too actually. Gally mentioned a Teresa before, but I haven't seen any other girls here…" Eden trailed off.

"Teresa arrived a day before you did. We had never had girl before her and well, the strangest thing is, she was supposed to be the last person"

"Until I arrived"

"Yeah but you arrived awake. Teresa has been in a coma since,"

"Is it weird if I see her?" She asked rather cautiously. Eden had no idea why she would ever need to see this girl other than the guttural feeling deep in the pits of stomach telling her to.

"I don't see why not, its not like it'll hurt is it?" Newt replied leading the way for Eden to follow.

Once there, they met with some resistance from the med-jacks but Newt managed to pull an authority thing that suggested they had to see her.

"So what, you got vice-presidency employment out of this did you?" Eden's smirk lasted all of ten-seconds before she saw the younger raven haired girl lying comatose before them. _This could have been you_ an unwanted voice piped up in Eden's mind.

Eden knelt down so that she was level with the bed to really look at Teresa. She didn't feel any recognition for the girl but a wave of sympathy swelled inside of Eden. Teresa's skin was a pearlescent tone of white and slightly dewy with sweat, her dark hair framed her face in a way that made her look younger than perhaps she was. Crossing her legs, Eden sat down properly next to the young girl. Eden was overcome suddenly with not knowing what to do next, she could still feel Newt's presence behind her but she was not quite ready to leave yet. Taking a brave and unprecedented move Eden took hold of the girl's hand and gave it a tight squeeze before letting go.

 _Solidarity between sisters, even strangers_ Eden thought to herself before she got to her feet to leave with Newt. As the pair crossed over the threshold and the door closed behind them they suddenly heard a large intake of breath. Eden and Newt looked sharply at one another eyebrows raised and eyes wide with surprise.

"No bloody way! Is she awake?" Newt exclaimed as both he and Eden frenziedly turned back through the way they came and hurried through Teresa's door.

A/N:

I noticed a comment about my lack of updates this past year and I am honestly so sorry. I have had this chapter ready for a while like chapter 4 says, but I never got around to posting it. I've had a very busy rollercoaster of a year with family and University so I haven't had much writing time. I've also lost some enthusiasm in this story and I don't know if I am going to continue it. Unless I tell you guys then I will still be writing so you can still expect chapters (They just won't be frequent).

To Sophia P... I'm definitely aiming for friendship but who knows ;) thanks so much for commenting!

If you have waited for this chapter and are still with me and this story, then I thank you with all my heart and again I apologise. Please R&R for this chapter if you're still invested.


End file.
